GENERAL STATEMENT. 27 
amounts taken out have not been so large as those mined at places in the Klondike 
district or at a few of the claims near Nome, yet a number of creeks in this region 
produce a fair amount of gold. At first Little Minook and Hunter creeks were the 
only producers, and during 1897 no new ground seems to have been found, but in 
1898 a small amount was taken out of Quail Creek. Afterwards gold was discovered 
upon Little Minook Junior, Hoosier, Ruby, and Slate creeks of Minook Creek 
Valley. In the meantime prospecting was carried on over the divide on the south, 
and deposits along Baker Flats were discovered. In fact, each year has shown some 
new source of production, and it seems likely that more may still be found. The 
output to the fall of 1904, from the best available data, was $1,112,000, and that for 
the year ending at the same time was about $232,900. 
As Rampart lies only about 1 degree south of the Arctic Circle, the cold of winter 
is severe and the open season is comparatively short. During the early part of June 
thawing is generally so far advanced that some preliminary work and sluicing can 
be done. Cold snaps are likely to make the work intermittent at first, but the latter 
part of June and all of July and August can be depended upon for outside opera- 
tions. Frosts are likely to occur the first part of September, though mining can 
sometimes be carried on during practically the whole month. In 1904 the sluice 
boxes froze up on the 5th of September, and after that date there were only a few 
days on which sluicing could be done. 
The surficial deposits are always frozen, and the limit of the frozen ground has not 
yet been reached, but there are channels in the frozen gravels through which water 
circulates freely at all seasons. Large masses of ground ice often occur in the muck, 
though none are found in the gravels. The depth of the alluvial deposits sometimes 
exceeds 100 feet, but it is generally less than one-fifth of that amount. 
The larger part of the mining has been carried on by drifting and open cuts, 
depending on the season and the local conditions ; but during the season of 1.904 two 
hydraulic plants began active operations, and two more were under construction. 
Ordinarily, wherever the gold-bearing alluvials are of sufficient depth they are mined 
by drifting during the winter and the dirt taken out is washed in the spring. In 
some cases the presence of water interferes very seriously with the drift mining and 
renders gravels otherwise workable comparatively valueless. Drifting can not ordi- 
narily be carried on in the summer time, because the warm air melts the ground and 
causes it to cave. In thawing the ground for drift mining steam points have generally 
superseded wood fires, though the latter are still sometimes used. 
During 1904 wages were $5 and board for a 10-hour day. This is equivalent to 
$6.50 to $9 a day, varying with the locality. The men who work for wages are 
generally strong and healthy and render a full equivalent for their pay. 
The currency of the country, as in the early stages of most placer camps, is gold 
dust, The different values of the gold from the different creeks makes the fixing of 
the price at which it should pass rather difficult, and the result is that, while some 
gold passes considerably below its value, some passes at more than it is actually 
worth. The gold assays from $14.88 to over $19 per ounce, and passes at $15.50 to 
$18 per ounce. 
MINOOK CREEK GROUP. 
This group includes the placers of Minook Creek and its tributaries within limits 
of 5 to 13 miles from Rampart. Most of the diggings, and much the richest so far dis- 
covered in the group, are upon the east side of the valley, and none have been found 
in the main valley above the mouth of Slate Creek, 11 miles from Rampart, 
The hills are generally rounded or flat-topped. The valleys are canyon-like, with 
steep walls 500 feet or more high, and benches are prominent features of the topog- 
raphy. The larger streams have cut their valleys down to a grade varying from 40 to 
80 feet to the mile. The watershed of Minook Valley is narrow on the west, sometimes 
